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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. press — a publisher
  3. row — a line
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. band — a ring
  6. cap — of ice
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. band — a music group
  10. row — to paddle
  11. object — to protest
  12. object — a thing
  13. object — an aim
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. stock — shares
  17. cap — a hat
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. stock — goods
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. cap — a lid
  22. bat — the animal
  23. press — newspapers
  24. press — to push

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com